This is why you feel sick after spending too much time on IG
THIS EVERYDAY CONDITION CAUSED BY DEVICES may be hurting your productivity
You’ve been Pinterest-ing your way to your dream wedding that one day you can afford. Or you’ve been answering emails for hours. Or you’ve been researching hashtags on IG to increase your reach. Or you were texting that new crush for probably too long. And all of a sudden you feel light-headed, nauseous, and just gross.
CyberSickness may be the culprit.
Well, you’re not the only one. I went on a research spree recently when I realized that I always felt crummy after too much time on my computer & I found something so intriguing. CyberSickness is the scientifically recognized condition that often mirrors the symptoms of motion sickness. It is caused by what Science Daily calls “sensory mismatch.” it happens when what your eyes are seeing doesn’t line up with the physical actions of your body, causing conflict in your brain. So scrolling, watching videos on your phone, staying on social media for extended periods can disrupt the controls in your brain.
So what can you do to stop it?
Well, of course, limiting your screen time would be ideal but as a person who literally create digital assets all day long, that’s kinda not feasible for me so I found some other tricks that seem to help.
Take breaks often. I don’t like being interrupted when I’m on a roll but every hour, I take a 5 minute break. I set an alarm in my phone to get up, get moving, maybe stretch, go pee (thanks coffee,) drink a glass of water, etc. as long as I’m not on my phone.
Find a spot in the room to focus on. This was always my trick when feeling sick on long car rides, too. Pick somewhere across the room, maybe out a window, and just focus your eyes on it for a few minutes. Meditate and let your mind wander, if you want, but allow your eyes to focus so your body can rediscover your surroundings. When on devices, we are looking at a distance very close to us with tons going on in the peripheral, doing the opposite helps your body combine all of the information.
Use your arrow keys instead of your mouse or trackpad. This can “slow your scroll” and allow your brain more time to understand.
Use non-digital options. I have always been a paper planner kind of girl but this actually really helps when I’m feeling the effects. Watching pen on paper to write down notes or plans helps center me again. If you use an iPad/tablet for notes, maybe get a stylus and use it to take handwritten notes instead of typing.
Use voice dictation to write long posts, emails, notes, etc. Not only can it allow your to keep your hands free to multitask (hello dishes) but you can always come back to it later and edit after thinking on it more. I also find I come up with new, better ideas when speaking them out loud.
Delegate your work. People are loving virtual assistants these days! This one isn’t necessarily for me but hey, to each their own.
Chewing gum has been rumored to help. Something about keeping your jaw in motion to trigger the physical response in your brain. Got a bit too science-y for me there.
Turn off screen notifications & pop-ups. This will more than likely help your productivity anyway but it will also keep your eyes from darting all over the screen.
Take a real lunch break. If you’re anything like me, you may realize it’s 1pm and you have only had a coffee plus a couple nuts. This is the time to actually close down your devices, make yourself some good fuel, & rest your mind. It will help refresh & reinvigorate you for your afternoon tasks.
CyberSickness isn’t a huge deal, no. But it’s a pain in the ass for sure when you are trying to get work done. Try some of these tips & maybe work on scheduling out your day to spend less time at once on your devices. Let me know how they worked for you!